Teasing

“Ha Ha Ha!” laughed
Sally. “Look at those big teeth he has! They are enormous!”

Boys and girls, was
that a nice thing to say? Sally said a mean and cruel thing. It hurt Zack’s
feelings. He heard her say that. He had heard many others say things about his
teeth. When Zack’s teeth grew in, they became larger than normal. Zack is
supposed to have large teeth because he is a beaver, but his teeth are twice
the size of the adults around him and he is still a yearling. At first, he was
proud of his teeth because they were strong and useful. He could chomp on wood
as well as his daddy could. His parents and siblings never made fun of them, so
he didn’t think much of the fact that they were so large. In fact, his parents told him
how wonderful and useful his teeth were. He was proud of them.

Then one day he was
attending a championship chomping competition that his daddy was participating
in, and that is when it happened. One of the yearling beavers commented on his
teeth. Then another started laughing. Soon, many took up the chant about his
teeth. Zack ran and hid behind his mommy, and because he was hiding, he almost
missed his daddy’s turn. He poked his head out just in time to see his daddy
win the race! From that day on, he heard
all the jokes and all the ridicule about how big his teeth were. He tried not
to let it bother him, but sometimes, like when he heard Sally, it hurt. Even
though he could chomp a tree in less time than other beavers his size, they teased
him more. This was probably because they were jealous.

Beavers cut down trees
by chomping and chewing them with their teeth. They use the trees and branches
to build dams in the streams and rivers, making a pond. After they build the dam, they build up an area
then build a home called a lodge. So, the entrance to their lodge is underwater, and the roof of the lodge mostly floats on the water. When it gets cold and the first frost comes, they put mud on the outside of the lodge forming a barrier that freezes. The frozen
mud is so hard it is like stone, and predators cannot break through. Water also
doesn’t break through, so they can live in there comfortably. They work at
repairing and building all the time. They do not hibernate. They store their food from trees in a pile beside
the lodge, and when the snow falls on it, the snow protects the
water from freezing so they can eat it easily. They swim up to it
and eat the underneath submerged part of the pile.

Beavers live together
in family units, working hard together in corporation. When the yearling grows
old enough, they will add on to the lodge or go a distance away and make their
own lodge. The size and proximity to one another depends on how thick the trees
and vegetation is. Beavers eat plants, which mean they are herbivores. They
especially like the tender stems of lilies, which are flowers that grow in ponds
where the head of the flower floats on the surface.

The fur of the beavers
comes in a variety of brown colors with some shades of black or even red. They have
claws for their front paws, but the back ones are webbed so they can swim well. They
have small eyes and ears, whiskers, and the ever present large front teeth. Those
teeth are two on the top and two even larger ones on the bottom. Their teeth continue to grow all through their lives because they get filed down on
the trees they are chomping, so they need to grow back. Beaver tails are unique,
long and flat. They use their tails to splash water and pack the mud on their
lodges. Beavers live to be about 25 years old and can grow to around 55 lbs. One
species lives in North America and another in Eurasia (Europe and Asia).

Zack doesn’t travel far
from home for fear he will run into the other beavers or other animals that
will tease him and make fun of him. He works close to home helping his parents
keep the lodge and dam repaired. One day, he discovered something besides
chomping he could do with his teeth. He found out he could blow air through them
creating a whistling noise. He learned to whistle through his teeth! He figured
out he could whistle quietly to himself or very loudly. When some of his pals
learned he could do that, they thought it was pretty cool. The other yearlings
tried to imitate, or copy, Zack but they could only get a little air sound and not a
true whistle. Zack practiced his new skill every day, and he didn’t feel so self-conscious
about his large teeth. He was still teased or stared at by other animals, but he
didn’t mind as much. He knew his big teeth were special, and he could make cool
noises with them.

Beavers warn their
fellow beavers of danger by slapping their tails on the water as they dive
down. This causes a noise above and below the water. If there is a predator, a
beaver will dive away from the predator slapping the water with its tail to
warn the others. Other beavers will hear it and hide in their lodges. Beavers are
very good swimmers and can stay underwater for up to 15 minutes. Other animals cannot
stay underwater as long, and it is difficult to find the entrance to the lodges so the beavers are well protected.

One night, it started to
rain, and it rained all through the next day and into the night. The rain was
causing flooding and the water levels were going up. Daddy beaver went up river
to see how bad it was. Zack and his
family waited anxiously for his return. When he finally poked his head into the
lodge out of breath he asked, “Didn’t you hear me splash the water in a
warning?” They shook their heads and he continued, “I didn’t think so, because
the rain is so sever and loud. We need to warn the beavers that the flooding is
knocking out all the dams and lodges.” Then Daddy turned to Zack and said, “Zack,
it is up to you.”

Zack didn’t know what
he was talking about, so Daddy explained. Zack needed to go out into the rain
and whistle as loud as he could to warn all the beavers. Nodding, Zack dove
under the lodge and out into the pond. The rain was coming down in torrents, and
he wasn’t sure he could whistle loud enough. His daddy was right beside him and
said, “Go ahead son.”

Zack took a very deep
breath and blew as hard as he could! “Whoooooooooooo!”They
waited and watched. Soon, they could barely make out beavers coming out of their
lodges down river. Once the beavers understood the danger, they all ran up away from the
river. Beavers run slowly, so it took a while, but they made it to safety. They waited
out the storm and returned to find their lodges and dams were torn apart. Work
was needed immediately to put everything back to what it had been.

After days of working, many of the beavers came and told Zack they were glad he had such great teeth that
could whistle so well. Some said he could warn the whole river! Zack was
pleased he had helped. Daddy said it was time for him to build his own lodge, and he would help him. Zack was confident in his ability to cut wood and
whistle!

Children, do you know
someone who is different than you? God made us all different because He likes
variety. Some of us have red, brown, black, or blond hair. Eye color varies
from dark brown to the lightest blue, and skin can be shades of pale to a deep
dark color. Some of us are tall or short, male or female. Some of us run very
fast while others need to use a cane or a wheel chair. Some of us have more
fingers while others are missing an arm. There are people more intelligent than
others. There are some that are hardly ever sick and others who have diseases. We
are all different, but we are special in the eyes of the Lord. God made us special and
gave us special abilities. Be happy with the way God made you. If you see someone
different than you, please respect them. They are made by God, and He gave them a
special ability or disability that makes them special. We are all perfect the
way God made us.

The Bible says we should love and be kind to each
other, even when someone is different. Ephesians. 4:32a And be kind to one
another…John 13:34 “Love one
another as I have loved you, that you love one another.” Memorize these verses.

2 comments:

Thank you for this lesson. I look forward to reading it to my children. We have several special needs children in our church, and I know my kids have a hard time understanding why they act different. This will be a great reminder for them that we are all God's creation and everyone is special in their own way.

Dear MomOf4, I hope this lesson reminds all of us that everyone is created special. I wish more people and churches reached out to people with special needs. Good job to you and your church. Please tell your pastor and those that have opened their hearts to them that I applaud them. Thank you for your nice comment.